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Thearak
An ancient state, Thearak was the primary country of the Liealb, a people centered on the River Kiyaj. It dominated the world south of the Kotthorns and ruled the Kiyaj Valley for over a thousand years before eventually falling to an alliance of their longtime enemies in Krato and Duroc, to this day the region remains in the orbit of the Uggor empires albeit direct control has faded of late as the Church and the Kingdom of Kilar assert local autonomy in the face of chaos and upheaval in the Moti Empire. The state retains its historical importance as the homeland of the Prophet Kleo, founder of Iralliam. History The Empire of Thearak was originally established in the Kiyaj valley, as the King of the city of Thearak gradually conquered his rivals amongst the liealb people. Here they developed a burgeoning agricultural civilization that would sustain a growing population over the centuries, and which traded with Salgaron in the North, and the nascent Uggor and Duroci in the west. This population however also fed the armies of Thearak when it invaded the Kingdom of Duroc in a bid to expand its empire, resulting in in a stalemate at the tusks of the elephants of the Uggor, who had allied with Duroc. Over the centuries wars would henceforth continue with Duroc and the Uggor on and off. Trade contacts via the sea in this period emerged with the distant Hamakauans and Opulensi, however Thearak suffered due to its less flexible economic framework, and a corresponding loss of its trade monopoly over the Kotthorns, with the Kings of Thearak turning towards an agrarianist ideology in a bid that would result in great population growth, and massive expansion to the east and south. War eventually broke out once more between Thearak and the Uggor-Duroci alliance, and while the Thearakeans now possessed elephants, their rudimentary knowledge of elephant husbandry resulted in only minor gains. During this period however Iralliam was founded and the Empire continued to expand in the south and east, although eventually these peripheral regions would fall away from the Empire and form the Kingdom of Piatrata, as part of a broader diminution of civilization more broadly in what would become known as the bronze age collapse. In the early iron age, and the last centuries of the Empire, the Empire contested with the Kratoan Empire, which absorbing the remnant duroc nation waged war against Thearak conquering even unto the sput of the Kotthorns that formed the natural western border of the Kiyaj valley and the Thearakean heartland. Despite reconquering Piatrata (which had allied with Krato), this war would prove to be the end of the Empire, with the army of thearak collapsing due to a combination of inferior tactics, and pure bad luck and resulting in the total conquest of the Empire by the Uggor Kratoan Empire, with the last city to fall under Uggor control being the Holy City of Opios, which was surrendered without violence to the Kratoan Empire by the Church of Iralliam. Society The Empire of Thearak was ruled by autocratic Kings who, isolated and dominant in their domain, titled themselves as Lord of the World. Although contact with the Kratoan Empire and the Hiu'ut Empire, not to mention the influence of Iralliam and the teachings of the Prophet Kleo humbled the Kings of Thearak somewhat, the Empire throughout their long reign remained centred upon the absolute personage of the King, with various lords and nobles ruling more or less autonomously under his authority in accordance with their position in the Thearakean caste system, being served by an equestrian class of warriors of superior status to the peasant population. This class system reflected the essential value places on war and conquest in ancient liealb culture. The Kings of Thearak from the beginning sought the conquest of new lands as a manifestation of their power and right to rule with this resulting in territorial of the liealb people and the Empire across the lands that would become Kilar and Jipha. The Empire also waged long war against Duroc and Krato, with this resulting in the Empires eventual fall as a consequence of the tactical advantage given by the Uggor elephants, and as a consequence of the development of innovative Kratoan strategy and tactics over the centuries. The religion of the Empire of Thearak in its early years was based upon the interpretation of celestial phenomena and a pantheon of deities. Some time around 500 years prior to the institution of the Seshweay calendar however the Prophet Kleo established the religion of Iralliam, recognizing only two deities, one good and one evil, in a dualistic religion that would later spread far and wide across the world. The Iralliamite religion would swiftly become central to the culture of Thearak. Category:Liealb Category:Uggor Category:Historical Countries